By Sammie Jones-
Simone Biles has returned to competing in the women’s beam event final on Tuesday at the Tokyo Olympics, USA Gymnastics announced.
Biles had initially withdrawn from the olympics team in Tokyo, after citing concerns about her mental health.
In addition to stress due to the pressure she was facing to perform, Biles said she was dealing with a case of the “twisties,” – an experience gymnasts sometimes experience in which they feel an incompatibility between their mind and body.
Experts say the problem can be extremely dangerous when hurdling through the air, as gymnasts often lose track of where the ground is and lose control of how many times they’re twisting.
Although previous mental blocks have primarily affected her on vault and floor routines, this time it was affecting her on all events, more specifically on her twisting skills. Her sole twisting skill is her high-difficulty full twisting double back dismount, which she could downgrade to a less difficult dismount if the skill remains a problem for her.
Since her withdrawal, Biles has said that she has spent time training at an unspecified location in Tokyo where she has been able to train her skills safely into a foam pit. During competition days, she has usually been the loudest voice in the arena, cheering her teammates and many gymnasts from other countries with whom she is friendly. They will now have the chance to support her in kind.
In qualifications, Biles became the first woman since 1992 to advance to the final in all six possible Olympic events — the team final, individual all-around final and the vault, uneven bars, balance beam and floor event finals.
Widely regarded as the greatest female gymnast of all time, Biles won five medals at the 2016 Olympics: gold in the team final, individual all-around, vault and floor finals, and bronze on beam. While Biles has previously said she planned to retire after the Tokyo Games, meaning that beam would be her final Olympic routine, she hinted in April that she could consider returning for Paris 2024 as a specialist.
Biles was criticized by television presenter, Piers Morgan, who said she let down her country by withdrawing from the games.